Those Four Little Words
by Bryony
Summary: Duo and Sally have a plan. :challenge response:


**Challenge, as proposed by sun on the WuSal2 ML  
**1. A first kiss  
2. A proposal on Valentine's Day  
3. A male character stands on top of a large building or a plaza and yells "I LOVE THIS WOMAN!!"  
4. The main female character must be kidnapped and rescued by the man of her dreams.  
5. A character dressed in a cupid's costume with a bow and arrow (at some part of the story).

_Disclaimer:_ _Gundam Wing_ is not mine. This story is not for profit -- please don't sue.

_Warnings:_ het, corniness, OOC

_Author's Notes:_ Just to showcase how pathetically slow a writer I am, this response was written over the course of several years, and I think it shows! Not sure how I can fix it, though, and it's just for fun so I'm sorry to say I'm not _too_ concerned, lol. And while it's no masterpiece, there are parts of this fic I genuinely like. The part I wish I could have done better? The Wufei/Heero/Trowa anti-love club; the image of the three of them standing around awkwardly at parties, not saying anything, and looking disapprovingly at all the couples just makes me giggle…

Those Four Little Words…

by Bryony

Sally leaned back against the sofa, staring out across the living room floor at the cluster of men standing in the corner. She shook her head in resignation and raised her wineglass in a silent, unnoticed toast, then took a sip. Unexpectedly, a second person flopped down onto the cushions beside her, bouncing her enough that she almost spilled her drink.

She glared at the intruder. "Just what are you trying to do, Duo?"

"What, me?" he asked her innocently. "This is supposed to be a _festive_ occasion, Sally Po -- what are _you_ trying to do, bring us all down with your moping about?"

"Well, I beg your pardon for sitting here and enjoying my drink," she playfully huffed. "What would you rather I do, start a conga line?"

Duo heaved a sigh that bordered on melodrama. "Honestly, you're the last person I'd expect to need instructions on not being antisocial. Get up and talk to people. Congratulate me on my imminent engagement."

Sally's eyes widened in genuine excitement. "Tonight's the night?" she asked, "You're really going through with it this time? Duo, that's wonderful, congratulations!"

He grinned -- and, yes, even blushed a bit. "Well, you know -- Valentine's Day and all that, what could be more romantic, right? And hey, what do you think I'm throwing this shindig for, anyway -- I need people around to celebrate with after Hilde says yes. Well, that and it'll keep me from chickening out at the last second," he added sheepishly. "Now, you're the only person I've told, so no blabbing, right?"

"My lips are sealed," she promised, just as Duo's eyes slid over her shoulder to someone behind her.

"Oh, jeez, here she comes," he whispered. "Wish me luck."

"You'll knock her socks off." She patted his knee as he got up and went to meet Hilde in the middle of the room. Sally watched them discreetly, smiling to herself as Duo gestured out towards the dining room and led Hilde off. Everyone knew that he had been trying to propose for months, and it seemed like tonight was finally going to be the night. Involuntarily, Sally's eyes slid back over to quiet trio in the corner of the room: Heero, Trowa, and Wufei.

If only certain others of the male variety would follow Duo's example…

But -- _He just doesn't get it_, she thought with a wry smile. _It's hard to believe it's possible for a person to be so oblivious._ Nevertheless, there it was. Try as she might, Wufei remained just that: completely and utterly oblivious to all her flirtations and romantic overtures. Sally rolled her eyes. It was almost cute. It was immensely aggravating, but it was also, in some twisted way, cute.

Duo and Hilde appeared back in the room, both with uncontainable smiles on their faces. Sally grinned too and stood up expectantly, as Hilde tapped a spoon on the side of her glass to try and gain the room's attention.

"Everyone, we have an announcement to make," she called out over the crowd, and things quieted to an expectant hush, with a few excited giggles here and there. Everybody knew what was coming now, and sure enough Duo and Hilde quickly declared in unison, "We're getting married!"

Not surprisingly, the proclamation was met with sound applause, and Sally quickly joined the throng of people moving in to offer their congratulations to the happy couple. As she reached them, Duo grabbed her arm and took her aside for a second to whisper in her ear, "No more moping for you, Sal -- I have a plan."

"Oh?" she asked, her interest immediately sparked. "Do tell."

"No way, it's a secret. Just you wait a few minutes. Go and talk to him, and I guarantee Cupid'll find you, okay? Trust me."

"Um…" Sally stared at him, trying to assess Duo's seriousness, but he seemed to be in earnest. "Well, okay," she agreed hesitantly, and was about to move on to congratulate Duo on finally popping the question when he gave her a gentle shove to be on her merry way.

So, she moved on to Hilde instead, wrapping her up in a big hug. "This is wonderful news, Hilde. I'm so happy for you guys. You're going to be so wonderful together."

"Thanks," she gushed. "I'm so thrilled Duo finally got up the nerve to get on with it! I was going to ask him myself if he hadn't gone through with it tonight! Anyway," she lowered her voice confidentially, "he's told me what he's got in store for you and Wufei tonight."

"Huh!" Sally remarked. "I wish he'd tell _me_!"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Hilde laughed and winked impishly. "Better get over to Wufei now, don't you think?"

"Had I?"

"_Oh_ yes," Hilde declared, pointing her in his direction. "Duo and I won't be the only happy couple for long now. Off you go!"

Sally continued to stare at her inquisitively, but Hilde was revealing nothing, so she slowly went -- gathering her nerves as she went, of course, because Wufei had a certain knack for making a girl feel awkward and silly.

She sidled up to him subtly, ignoring the unwelcoming looks Heero and Trowa gave her as she arrived. "Wonderful news, isn't it, Wufei?" she asked as he finally noticed her.

"What, Duo and Hilde? Everyone's acting like it's some huge surprise, but we've all known it was coming for months," he snorted.

"Well that may be, but it doesn't make it any less of an occasion!" she protested. "Really, Wufei, you're acting as though you haven't got a romantic bone in your body."

"He doesn't need one," Heero interjected. "If romance is going to turn someone into a silly, grinning idiot, then Wufei doesn't need it."

"Those are…quite strong words," Sally murmured, rather taken aback. She turned back to the Chinese young man, who was now staring stubbornly at the floor, and asked him, "Is that how you feel on the subject as well? Wufei?"

He muttered something, but Sally couldn't catch what -- and she didn't have time to find out, either. Duo had reappeared at the top of the stairs, wearing what was possibly the most ridiculous outfit Sally had ever seen. She had to give him credit, though -- Duo was in many respects, this being one of them, the bravest…not to mention most creative…person she knew. And Sally knew this because of the sickening lurch of dread she felt in her stomach at what she now knew was about to come.

She was not the only person to have noticed Duo's strange costume -- a toga made out of a bedsheet and a pair of Tinkerbell wings (way too small for him) from one of Hilde's old Halloween costumes -- and the room had fallen quiet once again. But this hush was of the "baffled and bemused" variety, rather than the "supportive and attendant" sort that had permeated the room a few minutes ago.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Duo announced, clearly reveling in the drama of the moment, "As you all know, today is Valentine's Day -- the day of love. And, because of the declaration of love that you have already bore witness to this evening, I, Cupid, son of Venus, have decided to -- here and now -- facilitate the start of another brilliant romance."

Duo descended the steps, brandishing a bow and improvised arrows as a wicked gleam appeared in his eye. "Now…to choose the soon to be happy couple."

"Well!" Sally remarked quietly to Wufei, in a pitiful attempt to seem casually curious, "This is certainly interesting."

Indeed it was. And it got rather more interesting in the seconds that followed. Duo aimed his "arrow" (in reality a cue stick that Sally remembered Heero had broken the last time the gang had been over for a game of pool) towards Wufei and let it fly. Unfortunately, the shot had rather less than the desired effect. Sally didn't know what Duo had presumed would happen -- whether Wufei would move out of the way, or catch the stick, or what -- but she was sure that he hadn't expected it to actually lodge itself into Wufei's leg.

"For crying out loud!" she yelled. Wufei's face just turned an unhealthy shade of red as he struggled to maintain self control and not make any sort of sound indicative of the amount of pain he was obviously in. (He soon succumbed, though, and shouted, "What the hell were you thinking?!" at Duo.)

Utterly embarrassed, Duo began apologizing profusely. Sally shushed him and told him to run and get a first aid kit. She then gave Wufei her best professional smile and said, "Right then…let's yank this thing out."

"For crying out loud," Wufei muttered, unconsciously echoing Sally, and hobbled painfully to the sofa where he could prop his foot up on the coffee table and examine his leg. Sally and all the other eager-to-help partygoers followed; and pretty soon, between everyone, the wound had been taken care of. Fortunately, it was nothing too bad -- no hidden splinters or anything, just a deep cut which was soon disinfected and stitched up. Although, the same could hardly be said about Duo's matchmaking attempt.

* * *

"Well…" Sally groped for words the next day, "I don't think it's a party that anyone will ever forget, anyway." She snickered, and Duo groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I completely bungled things up!"

"Oh, Duo, don't think about it like that. You tried to do a lovely thing -- and it was your _engagement_ night. A day that's supposed to be all about you, and you were out there trying to bring everyone else the happiness you and Hilde have got. If you ask me, that's pretty great, even if things didn't go exactly according to plan, hmm?"

Duo shrugged, then visibly cheered. "Maybe. But, it doesn't really matter -- because I've got another plan. And this one is absolutely sure-fire."

"Really…" Sally hid a smile behind her coffee mug and turned back to her computer screen.

"Yes, really! Honestly, you'd think I never had any good ideas with the way people always treat me in this building."

Contrite, Sally turned back to him. "You're right. Of course, I'm sorry, Duo. I think it's just that since the wars have ended your brilliant ideas tend to have more to do with practical jokes than battle strategy."

"Well _this_ plan requires a bit of both," Duo replied with a sly grin. "Are you interested?"

"Duo, your ideas _always_ intrigue me. Let's have it."

"Excellent." He leaned in close, and in hushed tones gave a detailed outline of the expected scenario. When he had finished, Sally leaned back, struggling not to laugh.

"That would be fun," she admitted with a delighted laugh, "…but it seems awfully elaborate, and you know there _is_ one option I haven't yet tried -- the direct approach. So… I don't know."

"Aw, come on Sally! You've been dropping hints for months practically -- I mean, jeez, even _Heero_ knows there's chemistry here. Why do you think he and the rest of the lonely hearts club are always hanging around looking disapproving every time you try to put the moves on Wufei? We _all_ know he likes you, but, honest to God, Wufei has got to be the single most backward person I know when it comes to romance."

"Which rather supports my point, don't you think?"

"Nu-uh!" Duo countered in a bout of stunning repartee. "Because Wufei's got all these twisted ideas about chivalry." Duo nodded sagely and began ticking points off on his fingers. "The case I put to you is this: Wufei's just as into you as you're into him -- you're the only girl he hangs out with, he's overprotective of you, and he hasn't done you grievous bodily harm or demanded a different partner. Clearly a _duh_ equation. He just hasn't put the word romance to his feelings yet -- or yours. It's like there's a switch in his brain that just hasn't been pulled. That's what this plan will do, pull the switch _and_ allow him to keep his masculine Wufei pride. Trust me, Sal, if you just go barging in there with the direct approach, he'd feel way too emasculated to actually respond the way he should. Think of this as giving him a little nudge in the right direction."

"Duo, what you've got in mind here happens to be a pretty enormous nudge!" They glared at each other for a minute, exasperated. Then Sally finally sighed and threw her hands up in the air. "You really want to do this, don't you? Ah, this is ridiculous! What if he finds out?"

"If he does, by then it will be too late! He'll be in looooove! You're in, aren't you?"

"…Fine," Sally muttered grudgingly, staring guiltily at the floor. Duo's points added up and she was getting desperate, but very little about this felt right. _Please don't make me regret this…_ she prayed. "When do we start?"

"Okay, just ask Une, secretly, for a day off, tell me what you think the most romantic building in the city is, and we'll get started tonight."

* * *

Wufei had decided to go out for a stroll and enjoy the night air -- a fateful decision, because when he came back and discovered the note taped to his apartment door he wasn't going to be able to enjoy anything for a while.

Curious at first, he took it down quickly to read, and then frowned in confusion.

_Miss your girlfriend???_ it read.

It had to be either a joke or a wrong address, Wufei decided. After all, everyone who knew him knew he didn't have girlfriend. Unless the person meant Sally -- but that was absurd. There wasn't anything between them…they were just coworkers…friends, perhaps, at most.

Wufei put the note out of his mind and went to bed.

But the next day, when he arrived at work, Sally wasn't there. Two hours after he arrived, Wufei went to drop off some stuff for filing and discuss the results of their last mission, but her office door was closed and locked. There wasn't any light coming from underneath the door, either.

He was about to turn and go when he noticed the slip of paper on the floor and bent to retrieve it. It was another note, this one telling him, _You're going to have to try harder than this!_

"What in hell…?" Wufei wondered out loud, but with growing concern he folded the paper and put it in his pocket before briskly turning and walking down the hall to Une's office. He would find out about this once and for all.

Duo intercepted him halfway there, an unusually solemn expression on his face. "Wufei, you better come here. I've got some pretty bad news."

Wufei scowled, having still not quite forgiven Duo for the bandage on his shin and his ruined dress pants. "Can't it wait? I was just on my way to speak to Commander Une."

"It's about Sally."

Wufei hesitated another second, then gave in. "All right, what is it?" he sighed.

Duo beckoned him inside his office and waited until he was sitting down before explaining gravely, "She's been kidnapped."

"Right… Don't be foolish, Duo -- Sally's far too intelligent to put herself into a position where that would be possible."

"It's true -- the kidnappers sent proof." Duo held out a tiny envelope, inside of which were several strands of hair. "We tested it, and the DNA matches Sally's. The good news is, these guys aren't professionals. They've asked for a ransom, but we can track them."

Wufei suddenly made the connection between the note in his pocket and what Duo was telling him. "You idiot!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. "Don't you know, they've been in this building -- they'd have to be pretty good to do _that_!"

"Wufei -- calm down! Look, okay, maybe these guys aren't bad, but _we're_ definitely better. Anyway, you might be without a partner for a couple of days, so Une's going to give you some deskwork to do until we've rescued Sal -"

"What?! She most certainly is not. I'm not going to trust the morons who let these guys into the building head up her rescue, they'll screw up the whole thing. I'll take care of it myself, got that?" Wufei, having worked himself up into a rampage, didn't wait to hear an answer, just walked out of Duo's office, ready to go. Of course, he missed the pleased smirk that settled onto Duo's face as soon as he left the room.

"Exactly according to plan," he murmured to himself, still grinning. "Now that's what I call love."

* * *

Wufei sat down at his desk with a new understanding of the notes he had discovered. He spread them both out in front of him and bent studiously over them. They were definitely both in the same handwriting, and the two pieces of paper seemed to have been taken from the same pad of stationary. Moreover, the messages seemed to indicate that these kidnappers _wanted_ Wufei to find Sally -- they also presumed (Wufei could feel himself start to blush) a romantic involvement between them which would prompt his action. Perhaps their goal was something from _him_ personally? Revenge, or a payment of some sort? A grudge, perhaps, from his piloting days? Who on Earth could it be?

Wufei reached out absently for his coffee mug, only to discover it was empty. He stared at it in bewilderment for a second, as it slowly began to dawn on him that Sally had always stopped by to fill his cup whenever she was going for her own. A pang of loneliness went through his chest.

He frowned. Surely he couldn't actually _miss_ her -- he'd only just found out she was gone this morning! And he couldn't very well be worried about her either; after all, Sally knew perfectly well how to take care of herself in a situation like this. He was just…wanting to get back to normal.

Wufei got up and went to fill his mug on his own. He would bring the notes down to the lab after that, to see if they could find any matches on handwriting or fingerprints to indicate who the kidnapper was.

His eyes widened as he walked into the lounge and discovered yet another note taped to the coffeepot. Wufei ripped it off and scanned it anxiously. Remarkably, it contained a description of the feelings he had been pondering just a few minutes ago. A shiver ran down the length of his spine -- whoever these guys were, they must be figures from somewhere in his past; they knew him far too well to have simply begun observing him and Sally a few weeks ago.

The feeling of eyes boring into his back brought Wufei's attention away from the note, and he looked up to discover Heero staring at him disapprovingly. "I hope you're not letting yourself get too carried away by all this," he said, "or you're going to start making mistakes in your work."

"What are you talking about?" Wufei demanded. "Taking care of my partner's well being _is_ my work."

Heero snorted and grabbed the coffeepot. "You're already losing your edge. If you ask me, you should just let Sally stay where she is. You're not doing yourself any favors going after her."

"That's crazy," Wufei scoffed angrily.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you're making a mistake going after Sally on your own. You're going to put ideas in people's heads. Ideas --" Heero looked at the slip of paper in Wufei's hand "-- like the ones in that note you're holding."

Wufei glanced back over the writing and shook his head. Heero was being ridiculous -- everyone knew there was nothing between him and Sally. There was just nothing there.

Right?

* * *

Wufei tapped his foot impatiently as the lab technician suddenly giggled into the phone. She had taken the notes from him, examined them only briefly, and then immediately made this phone call, only a few amused glances in his direction showing that she even realized he was still waiting. Wufei was deeply aggravated by the flippant attitude this woman obviously had towards her work. Didn't she realize that his partner's life could be at stake? One more giggle into the phone and the lab technician finally put on a straight face and hung up. She picked up the papers once more, then told him, "Sorry, Mr. Chang, but this handwriting doesn't match anything we have on record. And the only fingerprints left on them are yours."

Wufei scowled. "So you can't tell me _anything_ useful about who wrote these?"

"I'm afraid not. Sorry."

Disgusted that he had just spent an hour of precious time on a wild goose chase, Wufei snatched back his papers and trudged out of the lab, the damned technician's grating twitter ringing behind him. The next few hours he spent going through the Preventers' security camera footage from the night before. Someone had put that note on Sally's door for him to find, and he intended to see who it was. If he could recognize them…all the better. But as it soon became clear, _someone_ in the Preventer offices deserved to be fired. They had actually allowed the intruders to succeed in putting the necessary cameras on a feedback loop -- and an _obvious_ one at that, to anyone who was actually paying attention -- and let Sally's kidnappers do their dirty work unseen. It was absolutely disgraceful, and he intended to let Une know exactly what he thought about it.

To that end, he stormed through Preventer hallways, an evil-looking glower on his face that spelled trouble for anyone who dared interrupt him on his quest. People scurried out of his way as he came toward them…except for one.

"Yo! Wufei!" Duo yelled, snaking his head round the door of his office to flag him down.

Wufei whirled on him. "_What_?" he demanded in a dangerous whisper which seemed to startle even the unflappable Duo Maxwell. He gaped up at him without saying anything for a second too long, and Wufei quickly lost patience. "I am on my way to inform Une about a serious breach in our security and _you are slowing me down_. What - is - it?"

"Uhh…Sally," Duo gurgled, capturing Wufei's attention immediately. He was inside and sitting across from Maxwell in an instant.

"What do you know?"

Duo smiled a dark smile and replied, "Her location."

Wufei's eyes widened considerably. "Where is she?" he demanded without thinking, then a moment later added, "How did you get this information?"

"Woah, easy there, buddy!" Duo laughed in what Wufei considered an entirely inappropriate manner considering the circumstances. "The kidnappers sent a note. They want you to deliver ransom to the roof of the Plaza Hotel. In exchange, they'll deliver Sally back to you."

"How much did they ask? And why me?"

"Why you? I have no idea. You'll have to ask them when you see them." Duo offered him a very penetrating stare, and Wufei found himself shifting uncomfortably under the steady gaze. "Maybe," Duo said seriously, "they sense something about you and your relationship with Sally that you haven't realized yet. As for how much they're asking," he suddenly breezed along before Wufei could interject, "they want a hundred million."

"That's ridiculous!" Wufei blurted.

"Obviously. That's why we're not going to pay it. The note states that Sally will be ready to take home as soon as we bring the money over. The plan is for you to go in, take them out, rescue Sally, and bring back the money. We can't have backup too close to the building in case they get suspicious, but there'll be plainclothes officers stationed around the block in case they try to run for it, and we've already been in touch with the hotel about evacuating the other guests. Think you can handle it?"

"How many of them are there?"

"Don't know. Wufei, these guys specifically want you there; we're counting on you to rescue Sally. We all want her back too, you know."

Wufei's eyes narrowed. "I'll do it," he said fiercely. "It'll be a pleasure."

Duo grinned just a little too widely, as if he knew something Wufei didn't. "Great," he said, and reached under his desk, pulling out a briefcase. "I've got the money for you right here. Oh, uh, Wufei…you know that when I say _take out_, I mean arrest and not kill, right?"

Wufei stood imperiously and glared down his nose at Duo. "So long as Sally is unharmed, I will restrain myself. But make no mistake: if they have hurt one hair on her head, they will die."

"Uh, Wufei, that'll probably put you in the running to be court marshaled."

"I. Don't. Care," Wufei said dangerously, grabbed the briefcase, and left before Duo could say another word.

* * *

Like a black cloud of destruction, Wufei stormed his way through the city streets on his way to the Plaza Hotel. Its expensive downtown location wasn't far away from the Preventer offices, and the building itself was easy to spot -- it was the tallest structure in the country, a tourist attraction in and of itself, with people flocking to take photographs of the fabulous panoramic views it provided.

The hotel concierge met him in the lobby. "Mr. Chang? We have everything cordoned off for you; please feel free to make your way to the roof."

"Good," Wufei growled, and shoved his way past the tiny man and into the elevator, ignoring the surprised look on his owlish little face.

It was on the long ride up, while in the middle of envisioning a particularly gory revenge on one of Sally's kidnappers, that everything Wufei had been feeling since Sally's disappearance caught up with him. The obsessive concern with finding her; the loneliness; her one-hundred percent domination of his thoughts. He was in love with her. And, he suddenly realized, he had been for some time. The shock made him slump against the highly-polished reflective metal wall of the elevator. "How can this have happened?" he whispered to himself. He had always scoffed at the idea of love, had never seen the point. How often had he and Heero and Trowa discussed its lack of merits and potential traps? And now he was the fool who had walked unwittingly into it.

And yet…

And yet he didn't care. Since when had Sally made him weak anyway? They were one of the Preventers' strongest teams -- she didn't make him weak, she gave him strength. And he was going to tell her that just as soon as he finished rescuing her.

There was a quiet _ping!_ as the elevator reached the top floor and the door opened. Wufei turned down the hall and headed straight for the roof-access stairs, his hand going to rest on his gun.

Quietly as he could, Wufei eased his way onto the roof, peering around for the kidnappers. There was no one in front of him, and he could see fully half the roof from here. He drew his gun, and sidled around the tiny hut housing the stairs back down into the hotel to see the rest of the roof.

Then he almost dropped his weapon in surprise. "_Sally_?!" he exclaimed at the sight of her.

She was alone, and wearing a _dress_ of all things, and seated at a table for two overlooking the city view. "Hello, Wufei," she said softly, almost nervously, it seemed. "I see you've found me at last."

"What's going on here?" he asked suspiciously, peering into the shadows. But they were truly alone up here.

"I haven't been honest with you, Wufei, and for that I'm sorry. I guess you could call this a sort of…early April Fool's joke?"

"April Fool's?" Wufei repeated. Things were becoming rapidly clearer now; he thought he could see exactly what had happened, and he definitely didn't like it. It looked as though love was capable of turning him into a weak fool after all.

Sally stood up…and she did look very nice in her dress, Wufei couldn't help but notice. He quickly clamped down on the thought, reminding himself that he'd just been made a fool of by this woman. "I'd like to be honest with you now, Wufei, if I may," she said, and Wufei nodded, coldly, refusing to say anything. "I'm sorry, Wufei, I knew this was a bad idea, but I did it anyway. I just hope it doesn't cost us our friendship. You remember at Duo and Hilde's engagement party, when he dressed up as Cupid and tried to shoot you with his arrow?"

"It was two days ago, woman, and I won't be forgetting anytime soon."

She nodded…and, God damn it, now he was noticing the way the afternoon sun was reflecting off her hair and picking up all of her natural highlights. Like she was shining with some sort of golden light. _Stop that_, Wufei ordered himself sharply. "Of course. Well…did you ever think who Duo had meant the other arrow for? Who you were meant to fall in love with?"

"It seems to me, woman, that I have been made a big enough fool today without your asking me questions I obviously know the answer to. Get to the point."

Sally's eyes narrowed just the tiniest fraction. It was the second time he'd refused to call her by her name is as many minutes, and even feeling guilty over her treachery, she wasn't going to stand for his disrespect for very long. And, oh, heavens above, that was why he loved her. He winced, even as he thought it. His resistance was breaking down -- the sudden high he'd had when he'd realized his feelings in the elevator was still trying to win out, even after the enormous damper Sally and Duo's dishonor had put on him. But he couldn't do this now, could he? All this just went to show that love and relationships and all the rest really were a bad idea, a senseless bit of frivolity and weakness that would only detract from his purpose. So why couldn't he get her out of his head?

"The point, Wufei, is that for the last couple of months, I have uniformly failed to attract your attention. The point is that I love you, and that I think you have feelings for me, too, that maybe you haven't realized yet because you haven't wanted to fall in love. Duo wanted to do something that would help you think about what you want, and I wouldn't have gone along with it if I thought you didn't love me. That's what the point is, Wufei. We set all this up so you could figure out whether or not you want something more from me than you already have. It was immature, and I regret doing it rather than talking to you, but that was the point of this…practical joke. I'm sorry."

Wufei threw the briefcase on the ground, and the loud clatter it made against the concrete was very satisfying. "By the gods, Sally!" he shouted, very annoyed, "I hate what you do to me! You have contrived to make me fall in love with you and, damn you to the deepest level of hell, you have succeeded!" He stomped over to the very edge of the roof, drew in a deep breath and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "I LOVE THIS WOMAN!!" and the echoes sounded even less pleased about it than their original.

Sally, for her part, was looking on, incredulous but with a growing smile. "Wufei," she said to get his attention, and laid a hand on his shoulder; and when he looked at her, she kissed him, long and deep. When she pulled away, he was still scowling, but only slightly. "I love you."

"I love you too," he grumpily retorted.

"Let's have dinner."

"Fine."

And Wufei pulled out her chair for her, and the two of them sat together and ate their romantic dinner for two in the light of the setting sun, undisturbed by anyone, and Wufei was enjoying himself in spite of his best efforts, and Sally was enjoying watching him struggle while knowing that she had been right all along and not wasting her time on a lost cause. And on the whole, things were like normal but better between them, and they would keep getting better for a long time.

-end-

(Except for the only downside of the evening, which was Duo's other practical joke. Duo and Sally had agreed that the briefcase which Wufei took with him would carry the funds to pay the hotel for the private rooftop function they'd booked, with gourmet dinner for two. But when Wufei opened it to retrieve the cash, it turned out to be stuffed to the brim with condoms. Wufei was not amused.)


End file.
